Bio

My name is of course Mellissa Black. Raised in a small town in South Carolina, I now call two states my home. My first home is Cullman, Alabama, while my second, during the week home, is Oxford, Mississippi. So much of who I am is wrapped up in my Southern kudzu roots.

For many years, I was a stay-at-home-mom to two kids. Recently, I began the journey to acquiring my Ph.D. in Eighteenth-Century Literature. I earned my Master’s degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. After that, I moved on to the University of Mississippi. My research interests are: property, consent, education, gender and sexuality, law and literature, with the minutest touch of ecocriticism. I have loved both of my schools. The faculties at both have been excellent, and my peers at both were welcoming and community-oriented.

Though I haven’t had much time in recent years, I am also a creative writer. That will change very soon, as I am determined to force time into my schedule to write creatively. I write often, but academic writing has consumed most of my recent efforts. My creative writing usually has a splash of rural southern charm, for I cannot seem to nor do I want to suppress my ties to this rich part of the country.

When I’m not writing, I am a voracious consumer of fluff TV. I’ll go ahead and out myself as a reality show fan. It’s my guilty pleasure. I feel I should balance the scales. I read enough of the heavy stuff that it needs tempering with candy television.

I’m also an avid crafter, mostly crochet. My last blog was: http://wondermommy.wordpress.com. Though I haven’t contributed to it in years, lots of my crafting adventures and sewing tutorials are still up for perusal.

Outside of all that, I’m usually watching football with my hubby or doing something related to my children. I have a teenage son and a preteen daughter. They fill my life with their own adventures.